Premature death much more likely in this region, health report finds

THUNDER BAY – People living in Northwestern Ontario are more likely to die sooner than in other parts of the province while having more difficulty accessing health care.

Those were the findings in a report released Wednesday by Health Quality Ontario, which found health-care in Northwestern Ontario is severely lacking when compared to other regions of the province.

The region had the highest rate of potentially avoidable deaths in the province by more than 10 per cent, at 258 per 100,000 people. The provincial average is 163 cases per 100,000.

The average life expectancy at birth for people in the Northwest is 78.6 years, shorter than the Ontario average of 81.5 years and significantly less than the Central West and Mississauga Halton regions, which have life expectancies of 83 years.

The report also showed a gap compared to the rest of Ontario when it came to the ability to receive treatment.

The percentage of people in the region able to see their primary care provider on either the same or next day after getting sick was 28.4 per cent, significantly lower than the provincial average of 44.5 per cent.

In addition, 73 per cent of people reported accessing care on evenings and weekends to be very or somewhat difficult, which was also higher than any other part of Ontario.

Doctor follow-ups within a week of heart failure and pulmonary disease were also lower than the provincial average, with 28.4 per cent of heart failure patients and 27.2 per cent of pulmonary disease patients reporting seeing a doctor. Across Ontario, the rate was 44.1 per cent and 36.1 per cent respectively.

Follow ups for mental health and addictions issues also lagged behind, with 16.3 per cent of patients reporting seeing a doctor again within a week at 16.3 per cent, compared to 29.5 per cent for the Ontario average.

Yet the Northwest has the second highest rate of family doctors, with 122 physicians per 100,000 people. The Ontario average is 93 per 100,000 people.

When asked to assess their personal health status, 13.6 per cent of Northwestern Ontario respondents rated their health as fair or poor, higher than any other region.